The Department of Housing and Urban Development is mandating costly new energy standards for new homes insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which will become de facto nationwide building codes.
HUD last Thursday announced that it will require new homes financed or insured by its subsidy programs to follow the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code standard.
Many governments have declined to adopt the 2021 standards because of their higher costs. The National Association of Home Builders says the energy rules can add as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home. It can take up to 90 years for a buyer to realize a payback on the higher up-front costs through lower energy bills.
Not to worry, HUD says taxpayers will help cover the cost. It “is anticipated that many builders will take advantage” of numerous tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act “as well as rebates that will become available in 2025 or earlier for electric heat pumps and other building electrification measures,” the rule says.
These incentives include a $5,000 per unit tax credit for “zero energy” multifamily construction that meets prevailing-wage requirements that also raise building costs. HUD adds that builders may also “take advantage of certain EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund programs, especially the Solar for All initiative” and an investment tax credit that can offset 50% of a solar project’s cost.
Even with the subsidies, HUD estimates the price of a new home will go up by $7,229.
You get a $5,000 credit but only if the builder pays union wages for everything. How much will that cost?
My general rule of thumb is to take government estimates and triple them. That’s for short projects like building a home. But 10x would not be surprising. And this is with subsidies.
Generational Homeownership Rates
Home ownership rates courtesy of Apartment List
Who Are the Renters?
The answer is younger voters and blacks.
Generation Z homeownership is dramatically lower than the home ownership rate of millennials.
And according to the National Association of Realtors, the homeownership rate among Black Americans is 44 percent whereas for White Americans it’s 72.7 percent.
That’s the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade.
Home Prices Hit New Record High
Case-Shiller, OER and CPI data from St. Louis Fed, chart by Mish
The latest Case-Shiller housing data shows home prices hit a new record high. Adding insults and costs, the 30-year mortgage rate ended last week at 7.50 percent
Young voters propelled Biden over the top in 2020. Things look very different today. Many voters who do not like either Trump or Biden will sit this election out.
A group of wealthy white Baton Rouge residents have won a decades-long battle to split from the majority-black city to form their own suburb following a state Supreme Court ruling.
After reversing a lower court’s decision on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the incorporation of St. George, which will form in southeast Baton Rouge.
“This is the culmination of citizens exercising their constitutional rights. We voted and we won,” Andrew Murrell, one of the leaders of the St. George campaign, said in a statement following the victory.
“Now we begin the process of delivering on our promises of a better city,” he added. “We welcome both our friends and foes to the table to create St. George.”
A group of wealthy white Baton Rouge residents have won a decades-long battle to split from the majority-black city to form their own suburb.St. George Louisiana/Facebook
The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the incorporation of St. George, which will form in southeast Baton Rouge.St. George Louisiana/Facebook\ Much like the case with Central — the last incorporated city to be born in East Baton Rouge Parish — the St. George initiative began with hopes of residents starting a new school district before ultimately deciding to create their own city.
Although the St. George supporters failed to garner enough votes in 2015, four years later, the initiative won the election before it was stalled by a lengthy court battle, the New York Times reported.
Sharon Weston Broome, the mayor-president leading the combined Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish governments, had sued the St. George organizers arguing that the split would siphon more than $48 million in annual tax revenue from the local government.
The opposition also argued that St. George would not have the proper budget to operate on its own.
St. George supporters failed to garner enough votes in 2015, but four years later, the initiative won the election before it was stalled by a lengthy court battle.
Sharon Weston Broome, the mayor-president leading the combined Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish governments, had sued the St. George organizers.BRPROUD
Justice William J. Crain, the author of the majority opinion, disagreed with the city’s assessment and claimed that a thriving St. George could even become an asset to the declining Baton Rouge.
Despite her long-standing position, Broome conceded the battle on Friday following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The NAACP, however, maintained its fears that the formation of St. George will negatively impact Baton Rouge’s majority black community.
“The St. George plan poses significant risks to our education system, threatens the continuity of critical programs, and challenges community representation,” the local chapter of the NAACP said in a statement Monday. “The creation of a new municipality introduces considerable uncertainty around funding allocation for our schools, jeopardizing the cornerstone of our community’s future: education.”
During a news conference Monday at the St. George Fire Department headquarters, Murrell promised the residents that the new city’s officials will work to finally set up a new school district as he acknowledged the challenges to come.
“Number one, we created a city. We have not created a school district,” Attorney J. Andrew Murrell said. “They are two distinct separate animals. They have separate budgets, separate leadership structures.”BRPROUD
Petitions seeking the incorporation of St. George as an independent city from Baton Rouge are signed.BRPROUD
“Number one, we created a city. We have not created a school district,” Murrell said. “They are two distinct separate animals. They have separate budgets, separate leadership structures.
“But I would be dishonest if I didn’t tell you what’s next on the agenda would be the creation of the St. George school district, which is long overdue in a parish that is near dead last in a state that is near dead last in the country in education,” he added.
Before the new government can get started however, Gov. Jeff Landry must first appoint the city’s first mayor and city councilmembers.
Residents will vote for their new leaders in the next election cycle, according to the city’s website.
The once-thriving Manhattan business district is now a virtual wasteland littered with empty storefronts — with locals blaming spiking crime and the Big Apple’s disastrous post-pandemic retail real estate market.
“Big Box” retailers — including Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond and Staples — have fled in the last few years, leaving one of the city’s shopping meccas peppered with vacant retail space.
The once thriving Flatiron District in Manhattan has fallen on hard times in the wake of the pandemic shutdown.Matthew McDermott
Businesses who are trying to hang on have been plagued by rampant shoplifting and thefts, according to workers and city crime statistics.
“Business is horrible,” said Tenzin Tsethar, manager of The Wine Gallery at Sixth Avenue and West 16th Street.
“Some people have tried opening up new businesses in the empty stores on Sixth Avenue, but most didn’t survive four or five months.
“Inflation is through the roof,” he noted. “How can you balance your expenditures and income? Work from home has also hurt our businesses because so many corporate buildings are vacant.”
The Post counted nearly a dozen empty storefronts along Sixth Avenue between West 16th and West 21st Streets on Monday.
Those included one-time anchor stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, which was located at 620 Sixth Avenue, between West 18th and West 19th streets, before shuttering last July.
The Flatiron District has become riddled with “for rent” signs as shops have gone out of business and major retailers have left the area. On Sixth Avenue between West 16th and 21st streets alone, at least 10 storefronts remain vacant.
Staples: 641 6th Avenue (corner of 6th and W 20th). Was a Staples (the sign has been scraped off the front). Renovations ongoing inside but no “for lease” sign up.
Lowe’s: Closed in 2019 641 6th Avenue (opposite corner of 6th and W 19th). Was a Lowe’s. Empty. Facade repairs ongoing. 36,166 square-foot for rent.
Bed, Bath and Beyond: Closed July 2023 620 6th Avenue (between W 19th and W 18th). The Bed, Bath and Beyond on the ground floor is gone, walled off and guarded by security. TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are still operating on the second and third floors.
T-Mobile 595 6th Avenue (corner of 6th and W 17th). Was a T-Mobile. For lease sign advertises “ground and/or second floor” available.
ClearMD 600 6th Avenue (across the street from the shuttered T-Mobile). Was a ClearMD. Empty inside.
Terry’s Gourmet Foods 575 6th Avenue (cor ner of 6th and W 16th). Was Terry’s Gourmet Foods deli. It has been gutted, renovated and is being advertised as retail for lease.
Bank of America 670 6th Avenue (southeast corner of 6th and W 21st), formerly Bank of America, according to the rental agent.
Vitamin Shoppe Closed November 2023 655 6th Avenue (across the street from the Bank of America at the southwest corner of 6th Ave and W 21st).
Unknown 625 6th Avenue (across from B,B&B) is empty. The entire building of 105,000 rentable square footage is available — 35,000 RSF per floor.
CVS Closed July 2022 636 6th Avenue (corner of 6th and W 19th). Lock and zip ties on the doors, anti-theft shutters pulled down, empty inside.
Also gone are CVS, Vitamin Shoppe, T-Mobile and Bank of America.
The sign at the front of the former Staples outlet — at 641 Sixth Avenue on the corner of West 20th Street — had been scraped off the façade as if it was never there.
The space that once housed the Terry’s Gourmet Food deli, between West 16th and West 17th Streets, was gutted and being advertised as retail space up to lease.
“There’s been a domino effect of store closures,” said local resident Bobby Lewis. “On Sixth Avenue between 14th and 23rd, a few businesses are coming in but most are going out. It’s sad.”
A post-pandemic retail real estate collapse in the Big Apple and spiking theft are blamed in part for the struggles in the Flatiron District.Matthew McDermott
About nine retail chains have pulled their stores from the Flatiron District in recent years, The Post has learned.Matthew McDermott
State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar called the scourge “the sign of a decaying community.”
“It’s like a cancer. The more stores close, fewer want to return. The Flatiron District is not the same,” Kassar told The Post.
“It’s not just the storefronts,” he added. “It’s the declining real estate values, which reflect the decline of the area. There’s a general sense that the quality of life isn’t what it used to be.”
Merchants blamed the rise in online shopping — which boomed during the COVID-19 shutdown — and the spiraling effect of pandemic-fueled business failures that made the neighborhood less appealing.
“Big Box” retailers — including Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond and Staples — have fled in the last few years.Matthew McDermott
Crime has also been a constant headache, with recent spikes in retail theft and petty larceny, according to data from the NYPD 13th Precinct, which covers the Flatiron District.
Over the past two years, retail thefts have gone up by 55.7% and petty larcenies have jumped by over 34% within the precinct boundaries, according to the data.
“People just walk in, grab bottles and run away. Someone tries to walk out with a bottle at least once a week,” Tsethar, manager of The Wine Gallery, said of the surging thefts.
“Calling the NYPD does not help at all. They just ask us if we’re ok and tell us not to confront the thieves,” he claimed.
“It’s gonna get worse,” Tsethar added. “I see that happening every day. It’s certainly not getting better.”
One Flatiron District merchant said he doesn’t bother calling the NYPD about shoplifters any more.Matthew McDermott
The stats also showed that it’s only gotten worse so far this year.
Through Sunday, police reported 853 retail thefts in the neighborhood, up from 484 over the same period last year — for a massive 76% jump, according to the data.
Over the same period, petty larceny reports leapt up to 1,013 compared to 645 in 2023, for an increase of more than 57%, according to the NYPD numbers.
“It’s like a cancer. The more stores close, fewer want to return. The Flatiron District is not the same,” State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar told The Post.Matthew McDermott
Zak Clapham, who has managed a mobile phone shop in the district for three years, agreed the outlook wasn’t good.
“The T-Mobile closed a year ago. The Staples? Closed. I hope we’re not next,” Clapham said.
He noted the area is also seeing less foot traffic.
“We’re all dealing with it being slower and higher rents.
”Vitamin Shoppe CEO Lee Wright also pointed to foot traffic patterns and rent costs in a statement to The Post on Monday.
“As part of our ongoing retail strategy, The Vitamin Shoppe regularly evaluates our store locations in order to best serve our customers with lifelong wellness solutions. The store located at 655 Sixth Avenue proudly served our New York customers for over 14 years and closed in November 2023, after we assessed key factors, such as lease costs and foot traffic patterns—as well as the availability of other nearby The Vitamin Shoppe stores at 257 Eighth Avenue and 385 Fifth Avenue,” Wright said.
A CVS spokesperson said the decision to shutter the company’s outpost on Sixth Avenue in July 2022 was also due to several issues.
“Many factors go into store closure decisions, such as local market dynamics, population shifts, store density and access to pharmacy services,” the rep said. “Decisions are not based on one factor alone.”
Other major retail chains that have fled Flatiron in recent years did not immediately respond.
